Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford, an IVF Mum, egg donor, surrogate and family and surrogacy lawyer.
Welcome to the Surrogacy and Donor Conception Blog, with posts about surrogacy, donor conception, laws, news items, and my personal experiences as a donor and surrogate. You can scroll through the posts, search by category or keyword below.
Gestational Surrogacy in Australia
Gestational surrogacy, in which the surrogate is not the genetic mother of the baby she is carrying, is the most common form of surrogacy both in Australia and overseas. Gestational surrogacy is different from Traditional Surrogacy, where the [...]
Traditional Surrogacy
Traditional surrogacy is where a surrogate uses her own eggs to conceive, with sperm from an Intended Father or from a donor. It is different from gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate becomes pregnant with an embryo created with [...]
Surrogacy in the ACT
Surrogacy in the Australian Capital Territory is regulated by the Parentage Act 2004. If you are an intended parent living in the ACT, then the surrogacy laws that apply to you are those of the Australian Capital Territory. [...]
Surrogacy in New South Wales
Surrogacy in New South Wales is regulated by the Surrogacy Act 2010. If you are an intended parent living in NSW, then the surrogacy laws that apply to you are those of New South Wales. This is the [...]
Surrogacy in the Northern Territory
Surrogacy in the Northern Territory is neither legal or illegal. This is because there are no surrogacy laws in the Northern Territory at all. All the States and the ACT have their own surrogacy laws, but the NT [...]
Surrogacy in Queensland
If you are an intended parent living in Queensland or a surrogate carrying for Queensland intended parents, the Surrogacy Act 2010 applies to you. The criteria for surrogacy in QLD includes: That the intended parents have a social [...]
Surrogacy in South Australia
Surrogacy in South Australia. If you are an intended parent living in South Australia or a surrogate carrying for South Australian intended parents, the Family Relationships Act 1975 applies to you. The criteria for surrogacy in SA includes: [...]
Surrogacy in Tasmania
If you are an intended parent living in Tasmania or a surrogate carrying for Tasmanian intended parents, the Surrogacy Act 2012 applies to you. The criteria for surrogacy in Tasmania includes: That the intended parents have a social [...]
Surrogacy in Victoria
Surrogacy is legal in Victoria, and every State in Australia. Victorian surrogacy arrangements are regulated by the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008. The law is currently being reviewed, and expected to be reformed in the coming year. Read [...]
Surrogacy in Western Australia
Surrogacy in Western Australia If you are an intended parent living in Western Australia or a surrogate carrying for Western Australia intended parents, the Surrogacy Act 2008 applies to you. The criteria for surrogacy in WA includes: That [...]
8 Tips to a Positive Surrogacy Journey
Altruistic surrogacy is one of the most complex and amazing journeys you'll ever take, regardless of whether you're the surrogate team or the intended parent team. Even when things go right, they can still be difficult, and every [...]
Setting Expectations For Our Surrogacy Journeys
When travelling down the surrogacy path, the most important part is the relationship between the surrogate (and her partner, if she has one) and the intended parents. And rather than just hoping, or 'feeling' that everyone is on [...]
Gift Giving in Altruistic Surrogacy Arrangements
One of the first questions asked by surrogates and intended parents, is whether the intended parents can give gifts to their surrogate, or her family members, without compromising the surrogacy agreement or the Parentage Order application. And what [...]
The Sisterhood
Surrogates are like sisters. Surrogacy is a unique and special journey, not just for the intended parents, but for the women privileged enough to carry a baby for someone else. It's an unusual thing to do, and most [...]
Money Talks, But What If We Don’t Like the Conversation?
It is a fact universally known, that altruistic surrogates don't like to talk about money. We don't like asking for money, and we'd rather spend our own money than burden our intended parents. We feel that any talk [...]
Kids and Surrogacy
Kids and surrogacy - complex problem or privileged experience? I'm often asked about my children's responses to me being a surrogate, and for advice about preparing children for surrogacy. My kids were taught fairly early that sperm+egg+uterus=baby. They're [...]
Surrogate Partners: The Unsung Heroes
There's a few heroes in the story of surrogacy - but none more unassuming than the surrogate's partner. Our partners don't ask to go down this path, and the rewards for them are few and far between. But [...]
Planning a Surrogacy Birth
When planning a surrogacy, the team should think of the birth and how they will navigate the hospital system to support their surrogacy birth. Surrogates will have their own experiences of birth and have ideas of how they [...]
Hospital Management of a Surrogacy Pregnancy and Birth
There are such a low number of surrogacy births in Australia each year (somewhere between 50 and 70 in total), that it is no surprise that many hospitals will rarely come across a surrogacy birth. As a result, [...]
The Importance of Surrogacy Birth Photography
Birth photography is an art form. You only need to search #birthphoto on Instagram and find out how popular, and amazing it can be. I would have liked to have a birth photographer for my first two births, [...]
Milk and Feeding a Surrogacy Baby
Milk and Feeding of Surrogacy Baby Most new parents have to grapple with learning how to feed their newborn and making the right decisions for the family. When you add in surrogacy, it can take on a whole [...]